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I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
Verse Takeaways
1
God's Providence, Not Random Chance
When the verse says "time and chance happen to them all," it is not suggesting life is random. Commentators stress that what appears as a casual "chance" or "occurrence" to humans is actually part of God's sovereign plan and timing. As one scholar notes, from God's perspective, "nothing comes by chance." This means that even unpredictable events are under the wise direction of divine providence.
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Book Overview
Ecclesiastes
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3
18th Century
Presbyterian
Read these six verses together to understand the writer's meaning, and compare (Ecclesiastes 2:1–12).
After the description ([Re…
19th Century
Anglican
Romans 9:16
Chance. —Elsewhere only in 1 Kings 5:4
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
I returned, and saw under the sun The wise man returned to his former subject, concerning the same events happening to al…